MOVIE REVIEW – Premiering in 2022, but now landing on Netflix, The Outfit is a stylish crime drama woven with the elegance and mysteries of the last century. It’s a delicate craftsmanship where every stitch hides a secret, and the suspense builds gradually. Graham Moore’s directorial debut following his writing success with The Imitation Game, emerges another masterpiece, where tension and style harmonize perfectly.

It’s rare to stumble upon a film composed with such winning elegance as The Outfit – a crime drama crafted economically in terms of locations (the entire film unfolds in a tailor’s shop) yet rich with unexpected twists, akin to the fine tailoring of a seemingly simple suit. Particularly noteworthy is that this marks Graham Moore’s first directorial effort since his finely crafted WWII thriller, The Imitation Game, earned him a well-deserved Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2015. This time, Moore also takes on directing duties, molding this tension-filled, single-location story with the same meticulousness demonstrated in his previous work, steering the plot with a steady hand.

It’s like a detective game with a tailor at its heart

Indeed, Moore and co-writer Johnathan McClain deliver impressive work on The Outfit’s script, which thickens the plot into a complex puzzle that quickly engulfs the viewer. They invite us on an intimate, Clue-like adventure into an elegantly smoky, 1950s Chicago tailor shop catering to affluent clients. Mark Rylance, playing Leonard Burling, displays his impenetrable poker face and measured demeanor, reminiscent of his role in Bridge of Spies.

He’s a Savile Row-trained tailor who, after World War II, left his London home for the United States. The Nazi threat was a primary reason for his departure; another was the rise of denim threatening his business, as he puts it. Nonetheless, the master tailor finds his place again in the windy city of Chicago, even under the shadow of a mysterious tragedy. He does not take kindly to being called a “tailor,” as a “tailor” “merely adjusts trouser lengths and sews on buttons” – he is, in fact, a “cutter,” as he often reminds.

The calm cutter’s life soon takes a dramatic turn…

At first glance, Burling’s life seems uneventful, where the greatest excitement comes from the nuances of language. He spends most of his quiet work moments in the back of his shop, which Gemma Jackson, the set designer, has “painted” in tailor shop-reminding pastel colors. Here, Burling operates around a cutting table with the precision of a surgeon, working with premium materials with surgical accuracy. One of the film’s most thrilling scenes literally turns this metaphor into reality, as the story takes an unexpected turn, elevating the tension to its peak.

However, it soon becomes clear that Burling’s life is far from limited to cutting and sewing. Gangsters, particularly the Boyle family – Simon Russell Beale’s seemingly restrained boss Roy, his spoiled son Richie (Dylan O’Brien), and the inside men, Francis (Johnny Flynn) and Monk (Alan Mehdizadeh) – frequently appear in his shop, which they use as a secure communication hub, exchanging messages and packages among criminal family members. Burling remains discreet, focusing on his own affairs alongside these dark dealings, striving to set an example for his shop assistant, Mabel (Zoey Deutch), whom he views as a daughter. But it seems Burling harbors more secrets than he lets on. Mabel, embodying the innocence of the girl next door and the cunning of a femme fatale, plots her own schemes. Eager to leave Chicago, perhaps for Paris, she appears willing to do whatever it takes to realize her dreams.

In one day, everything changes

As the story unfolds over a single day and location, we discover the existence of a rival criminal family and an elite criminal organization, “the outfit,” to which the Boyle family aspires to join. Additionally, a potential traitor emerges, recording incriminating conversations on then-novel cassette tapes, then forwarding them to the FBI. What more could happen when the stakes include murder, money, and romance?

Part of The Outfit’s charm is its dynamically renewing nature, keeping viewers guessing until the last minute. It’s a special treat to see Moore in the director’s chair, meticulously guiding the film’s mystery weave. While it could have easily been just a stage adaptation, under Moore’s direction, the story undergoes a uniquely cinematic transformation. Like a master cutter, he pays attention to details, subtly revealing or concealing, focusing on faces, and unfolding scenes, all adding to the film’s artistic value.

The film’s costumes, crafted by Sophie O’Neill and renowned fashion designer Zac Posen with stunning period accuracy, are no less impressive. The Outfit ultimately feels like stepping into a rich, mesmerizing, and opulent world. For a creation that achieves such impressive results with limited resources, this is indeed a significant victory.

-Herpai Gergely (BadSector)-